Method of making goodyear-welt shoes



Nov. 24, 1953 A. KAMBORIAN 2,659,912

METHOD 0F MAKING GOODYEAR-WELT SHOES 2 Sheets-Sneezl Filed OCT.. 8, 1949 gy-ff Nov. 24, 1953 A. KAMBORIAN 2,659,912

METHOD OF MAKING GOODYEAR-WELT SHOES` Filed Oct. 8, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Illlllll aten'ted Nov. 24, 1953 vUNITED STATES PATENT- oFFicE f Albert Kamborian, Newton, Mass., assignor to Jacob S. Kamborian, West Newton, Mass.

, Application October 8, 1949, Serial No. I120,279

This invention relates to the making of foot- "wear and more especially to a novel method of making Goodyear Welt shoes.-

' In a Goodyear welt shoe, the lasting margin of -the upper and the inner edge portion of the welt are united by the inseam stitches to thesewing rib of the insole. Prior to the formation of the inseam, the upper is subjected to lasting stress (applied to the lasting margin) to draw the upper lsnugly about the last. As this stress is applied, -the margin is secured to the insole, either by the `use of temporary tacks or by staples which are inserted approximately at the point where stress "is being applied. f

The lasting operation, whether carried out b hand or by machine (at least, until comparatively recently) customarily included the steps of pulling over, side lasting, heel lasting and toe lasting. Pulling over involves the proper positioning of the upper on the last and thev initial steps involved in stressing the toe portion of the upper. The toe portion of the upper, after being stressed,

'is held in position by means of partially-driven 'temporary tacks-usually one at the tip of the toe, two at each side of the shoe at the tip line and one on each side just back of the tip line.

In the side-lasting operation the upper (includ- `ing the lining) from heel breast to tipfline, is

drawn tightly down to the wood of the last at 'each side of the last. In accordance with 'older a practice, it was held in position by temporary tacks but following more recent practice, vthe lasted-in margin is permanently fastened to the insole rib by a series of wire staples. Following the side lasting, the heel end of the upper is lasted in, usually by means of a machine having wipers which wipe the upper, counter and lining in over the bottom of the last to which they are permanently secured by tacks. The toe lasting is accomplished, as a machine operation, by the -use of wipers which wipe the toe portion of the Alasting margin, including the lining margin and 'the toe box, down snugly against the outer surface of the insole rib, the pulling-over tacks havfing previously been removed and the wiped-in material being held in place by a toe wire and anchor tacks-at least until the shoe is ready for the inseaming operation.

The usual staple side-lasting machine operates eration of the so-called "Nigger head machine" which was and still is used extensively for4 side lasting. At each point where a staple is driven (or a tack, if tacks are employed), the full lasting tension is preserved, but portions of the margin (intervening between the staples or tacks) which are not directly secured to the insole tend to relax and to bulge out, so that the lower portion of the upper of the completed shoe exhibits a wavey or undulant appearance which is not consistent with the demands of fine shoe making. Moreover, as the staples are driven close to the edge of the rib (to avoid needlebreakage when the inseam is formed) the lasting margin tends to bridge the angle between the insole feather and rib. This interferes with the inseaming operation and results in a bad edge.

The present invention has for its object the provision of a novel method of making Goodyear welt shoes whereby the above disadvantages, inherent in the customary prior practices using staples or tacks, are avoided. A further object is to provide a novel method of making Goodyear welt shoes such that the margin of the upper is permanently secured to the insole at every point along the periphery of the insole rib. A further object is to provide a method of making Goodyear welt shoes whereby the margin of the upper is more firmly secured to the insole than by previous methods. A further object is to provide a method of making Goodyear welt shoes whereby the lasting margin is forced substantially to the apex of the angle between the insole lfeather and rib and is permanently secured to the rib and feather. A further object is to provide a novel method of making Goodyear welt shoes wherein the lasting stress to which the upper is subjected is preserved without possibility of relaxation until the inseam stitches are formed and without the use of metallic fasteners. A further Objectis to provide a novel method of making Goodyear welt shoes wherein the lasting margin of the upper is united to the insole solely by means of adhesive prior to the formation of the inseam. Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 is a fragmentary, diagrammatic, transverse section, to large scale, illustrative of a conventional Goodyear insole;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing th insole prepared for lasting in accordance Awith the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, diagrammatic, trans- 3 verse section, to large scale, showing the insole of Fig. 2 assembled with a shoe upper on a last in readiness for the lasting operation;

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 3 but showing parts of a lasting machine of the continuous type in performing the lasting operation;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view, to smaller scale, illustrating the progress of the lasting operation as performed by mechanism slightly different from that shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. 4 but omitting the lasting machine parts and diagrammatically showing the appearance of the shoe after completion of the lasting and inseaming operations;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but illustrating a modified procedure;

Fig-8 is a view generally similar to Fig. 4 b ut illustrating a lasting machine of a slightly modied type;

Fig. 9 is a diametrical section, to larger scale, through the inner roll, showing details of the hold-down foot; and

Fig. l is a. fragmentary vertical section through the abutment and hold-down of Fig. 8.

Referring t-o the drawings, the numeral l designates an insole of conventional Goodyear welt type, usually comprising a body portion made from leather, or a substitute for leather, shaped to provide the sewing rib 2 and the marginal feather 3 and usually having a reinforce Il of canvas or the like secured to an under surface of the body portion of the insole and forming an inner ply of the sewing rib.

In accordance with` the present invention, the outer surface of the sewing rib and the under surface of the feather are coated (Fig. 2) with a layer of adhesive. This coating may be applied either before or after assembly of the insole and last, depending upon the kind of adhesive used and the dictates of convenience. According to a preferred embodiment or the invention, this layer of adhesive will be of a normally nontacky, thermoplastic material, for example, one of the synthetic resins. However, in accordance with another embodiment of the invention, this layer may be a pressure-type adhesive which is normally non-tacky and which does not h-ave substantial tendency to stick to other materials but which has a strong adhesive affinity for Surfaces coated with similar material, even at ordinary temperatures, when subjected to pressure. Preparatory tov lasting, the inner surface of the lasting. allowance or' margin of the upper is likewisey coated with adhesive. If the upper includes a lining, the constituent parts of the upper, at them'arginal portion', will be adhesively or otherwise bonded together. k

Having coated the sewing riband the feather with this' layer 5 of adhesive, the insole isy then assembled ony the last withv an upper U having thel lasting allowance or margin M, as shown in Fig. 3. The shoe is now lasted either by the use of hand actuated appliances' or by any appropriate power driven mechanism in such a way that thel point of application of lasting stress progres'ses without interruption along the edge of the last'.` ThisA is coliveniently carried out by means of mechanism comprising rolls Grand l (Fig. 45) xeclto shafts 8 and S, r`espe'ctively,v one, at least, of the rolls beingp'ostive'ly' driven so'E as to exert a forward feeding action upon the work, Desirablytheroll l has aA rigid downwardl axial extension 'la which forms an abutment'for the .sewing rib and contacts the bottom of the' insole and constitutes a hold-clown for the work. Preferably the extension Ia is capable of axial movement and is urged downwardly by means of a spring S, its downward movement being limited by a stop lb. In presenting the Work to the machine the operator engages the bottom of the insole with the lower end of the part 'la and exerts upward pressure, thus compressing the spring S until the marginal material M is properly engaged between the rolls 6 and l. As 'sh-own in Figs. 4 and 8 the margin M is gripped near its free edge only, the roll l or the abutment I6 being so spaced above the insole that the sewing rib is not gripped between the parts which grip the inargin M. If desired the holddown Ic1 may be capable of free rotation so as to form a roller abutment for engagement with the inner surface of the sewing rib. Other forms of work holddown may be substituted. In one desirable arrangement (Fig. 5) the axes of the shafts 8 and 9 are inclined relatively to the bottom of the insole, such inclination being either an actual inclination of the roll axes to the vertical or relative, resulting from the inclination of the bottom of the shoeA during the lasting operation. If the cement coating 5 be of a thermoplastic type such as to require that it be heated to make it t acky, provision may be made for supplyingheat, for example, by means of a jet nozale l0 (Fig. 4) from which a jet of heated or burning gas may issue so that the llame is directed upon the adhesive immediately before the adhesivelcoatd material passes between the rolls, or the hot gas may be so directed that it will Contact the roll@ and thus heat the latter sufficiently to make the adhesive coating sticky; The roll l with its eXtension la c-onstitutes an anti-friction abutment (consideringthe roll 6 as the driven ro'll) for the inner side of the sewing rib sofas to support the latter during the lasting operation and also acts as a hold-down to resist-upward movement of the last; Preferably, both rolls4 are cfa hard, rigid material and one or both of the rolls is mounted for bodily movement `toward' the other withA provision for urging it, for example, r'e's'ili'en'tly, toward the other during the lasting operation so as to grip the upper margin and to press the latter against the coated surface of the .sewing rib. Usually the machine `will have anA edge gage which engages the outer surface of the iip'pr near the plane of the last bottom `s`o as to assist the operator in presenting the work to the lasting machine. Some kind f wiper device, is einployed, forr example a horizontal, reciprocating blade il (Figi. 4) or as illustrated Fig". 5, a rotary helical wiper element l2, carried by the rotating shaft i3, toassist inv working the Iriarg-in-al material inwardly and to press it firmly onto the feather of the insole. t y

The operation of continuous lasting this manner proceeds uninterruptedly along that portion ofthe periphery of the shoe bottoni at which lasting i-sto be clone.A It may continuearound the toe but is usually limited to the shank and forepart portions. r Y l After the upper 4 has been lasted, as above described, whereby the lasting allowance is firmly secured' to the sewing rib by adhesive means only and without the employment of independent fasteners; metallic or otherwisajthe weltW may then be secured-1 by the stitches I4 (Fig. 6) to the sewing rib in accordance with the customary practice, and withoutv any danger that theneedle of the sewing machine will be'delected or broken by contact with metall-ic fasteners; of any sort. When an adhesive of the normally nonetacky,

pressure type is used, it is especially desirable, as illustrated in Fig. '7, not only to coat the outer surface of the sewing rib with the adhesive 5, but, as above suggested, to coat the inner surface of the lasting allowance M with a similar adhesive I5, as shown in Fig. 7. The shoe is then lasted, as above described, except that it is not necessary to use heat during the lasting operationthe mere pressure of the two adhesive layers 5 and I5 against each other serving firmly to unite them.

While it is usually desirable that the adhesive coating 5 cover the feather 3 as well as the sewing rib, it is within the purview of the invention to omit the adhesive from the feather, which may be desirable at times to facilitate the inworking of the margin into lasted position.

While, as above suggested, the operation is conveniently carried out by a machine having opposed work-contacting rolls, it is possible to use other combinations of work gripping elements, for instance, such as shown in Fig. 8. In this arrangement, the outer roll 6 is such as above described, but the inner roll is replaced by a stationary, rigid abutment member I6 which supports the sewing rib. Associated with the abutment I0 is a hold-down device, preferably capable of vertical movement and urged downwardly by a spring S (Fig. 10) This hold-down has a toe portion II which reaches down into the channel of the insole to form a hold-down device and which is furnished with the smoothly polished surface I8 opposed to the roll and designed to engage the inner surface of the sewing rib. The roll 6 is the driven element, acting to feed the work` along and also to exert the updrafting stress, the work sliding freely along the polished surface I8 of the abutment I6 which cooperates with the roll 6 to provide the desired grip for 11p-drafting the upper and which, at the same time, furnishes support for the sewing rib in opposition to the pressure exerted by the roll 6 in forcing the lasting allowance M into adhesive contact with the coated surface of the sewing rib.

Whilevwiper devices such as I I or I3 have been described as useful in the performance of the operation, it is possible for a skilled operator to last shoes merely by the use of the rolls 6 or 1, or their equivalent, without the assistance of any wiper device.

In describing the improved method hereinabove, a certain sequence of steps has been suggested for convenience, but without intent to 6 limit the invention to that particular sequence, and the claims are likewise to be understood, in respect to the specific order of steps recited, as merely suggestive and not restrictive, and it is to be understood that the method is broadly inelusive of any and all procedures falling within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

The method of making shoes of the Goodyearwelt type wherein the lasting allowance of an upper, assembled with an insole upon a last,

f overlies the feather of the insole and, prior to attachment of the welt to the sewing rib of the insole, is secured to the rib by adhesive only, the outer face of the sewing rib of the insole having previously been coated with a normally nontacky thermoplastic adhesive and the lasting allowance of the upper being of a width exceeding the combined widths of the feather and rib of the insole, said method comprising as steps supporting the shoe against a Xed abutment, a portion of which engages the insole at the base of the rib at the inner side of the latter and another portion of which engages the inner surface of the lasting allowance at the free margin of the latter, directing a jet of hot fluid against the adhesive coating, applying a positive updrafting stress to the free marginal portion only of the lasting allowance while the shoe is being restrained by said abutment against upward movement and, without ceasing to apply the updrafting stress, causing the point of application of said stress to progress continuously and uninterruptedly about the periphery of the insole, and, as the point of application of updrafting stress progresses, applying inwardly directed force to the stressed portion of the lasting allowance for working the latter inwardly over the feather of the insole and for pressing it against the adhesively coated surfaces of the feather and rib thereby to unite the lasting allowance to the insole.

ALBERT KAMBORIAN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,017,856 Goddu Oct. 22, 1935 2,053,120 Valentine Sept. 1, 1936 2,254,224 Kamborian Sept. 2, 1941 2,286,362 Hammann June 16, 1942 2,379,059 Ashley et al June 26, 1945 

